


A New Tomorrow

by Gypsywriter135



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Episode 5, Episode Related, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, No Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 04:26:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gypsywriter135/pseuds/Gypsywriter135
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Episode 5, Rin makes a trip to Makoto's house. Just because he doesn't talk to anyone anymore doesn't mean he cares any less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Will probably be irrelevant after the next episode, but whatever.
> 
> No beta'd or proof read. Read at your own risk.

When Makoto answers the door, his face morphs into one of complete and utter surprise as he stares at Rin. The red-head huffs, rolling his eyes; Makoto had always been easy to read. He still didn’t understand why him and Haruka were best friends when they were complete opposites.

“Rin,” Makoto says softly, eyes wide. “What’re you-”

Rin doesn’t give the other boy time to finish his sentence as he shoves a box of chocolates (Makoto’s favorite, if he remembered correctly) into Makoto’s hands and strides past him into the house. He stops in the hall to remove his shoes and he hears the door softly shut behind him.

When he looks back, Makoto is staring confused at the box, looking perplexed as his glasses shield his eyes briefly. He’s wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, Rin notices, a little different from the normal jeans that he’s so fond of wearing. His must be bothering him if he’s abandoned his contacts, too.

“It’s chocolate,” Rin supplies, giving the dog a bone. Makoto looks up at him, frowning slightly before a small smile graces his face and he nods once in thanks.

“My parents and siblings are out until later tonight,” Makoto says, cocking his head to the side slightly. “Would you like some tea?”

Rin shrugs and Makoto’s smile grows a little. The red-head clucks his mouth and follows his host into the kitchen, noticing that nothing in the house had changed since the last time he had been there. Except that there were two small children hanging off Makoto in several pictures.

He stops at one such picture. Makoto is flexing his arms, showing his defined biceps and the two children-one girl, one boy-are hanging off each arm. All three are smiling, Makoto’s face scrunched up so that his eyes squint when he grins. Rin feels a jolt in his stomach.

Jumping, Rin whips his head around when there’s a sudden weight pressed to his shoulder and he comes face-to-face with Makoto’s profile. Makoto flits his eyes to the other teen before smiling and pointing at the two children in the picture.

“You haven’t seen the twins since they were babies, huh?” he asks. Rin stares at him as Makoto raises a hand to the photo. “That’s Ren,” he says pointing to the boy. “And that’s Ran,” he continues as he moves his finger to hover over the girl. “They’re ten now, just as energetic as we were at that age.”

“You were never as energetic as the rest of us,” Rin replies, rolling his eyes. It was true, though. Rin remembers him and Haruka racing in the pools, Nagisa insisting on a water splash fight, while Makoto sat on the side of the pool, feet dangling in the water.

Makoto shrugs, then straightens. “The two of them are in soccer, not swimming. Mom and Dad were pretty excited when they made the traveling team.”

“Is that where they are now?” Rin asks, also straightening as he follows the taller boy into the kitchen. A pot sits boiling atop the stove, two mugs set out.

Makoto nods as he gestures for Rin to take a seat, busying himself in a search for sugar. “They had a game yesterday on the other side of town, so they stayed the night at a hotel instead of driving back here late last night.” He lets out a triumphant sound when he pulls a bag of sugar from deep within the cabinets.

Rin gives a small nod as he sits patiently at the table, noticing the faded crayon mark he had made when they were small still on the wood. He reaches up a hand and gently traces, thoughts fading fading back to happier times.

Back to times before times and points matter, where they swam to have fun instead of bettering one another. Where they didn’t have to worry about respecting the water because the water was their friend. When they were happiest together and in the water.

For years, Rin had pushed these thoughts away into the back confines of his mind; if he didn’t think about them, they didn’t matter. But ever since coming back home, things just kept surfacing, and not in a good way.

Sometimes, Rin really wished that the water would open up for him, swallow him up and calm his mind, like it used to. Nowadays, all the water does is lap at his walls, breaking down the sand castle he had constructed carefully.

A mug being set down in front of him startles him, and Rin looks up, watching as Makoto takes two huge steps and sits himself across the table from him. Rin mutters his thanks and wraps his hands around the hot mug, breathing in the calming scent.

“There’s chamomile in this,” he says with surprise as he looks up at Makoto.

The larger teen nods once. “Mom gets headaches nowadays. She usually drinks a cup before bed to help her calm down.”

Rin stares, then takes a cautious sip. It’s good, and Makoto smiles

“We have to hide it behind Haru’s Jasmine, otherwise the kids will take it. They drink too much, so mom only gives it too them when they can’t sleep.”

Ah, and there it was. For as long as he could remember, Makoto and Haruka had been together. There was never just “Makoto” or just “Haruka”. The two of them came as a pair, and it took Rin a lot of reflecting for him to work that out.

“I’m surprised he isn’t here right now,” Rin grumbles, taking another sip.

Makoto blinks. “Haru?” When Rin nods once, Makoto shakes his head. He jerks a thumb over his shoulder to the direction of the living room. “He’s here. Conked out on the couch finally about an hour ago. He was up all night.”

“Of course.” And Rin knew exactly why, too. It was the reason he was here, after all.

“Rin,” Makoto says, frowning. “Did you come here looking for Haru?”

_No, no he did not._

“I was in the neighborhood,” Rin says instead, taking a sip from his mug. “Thought I’d drop in.”

Makoto nods, but Rin can see that he’s not fooled. He takes a drink of his own tea, staring thoughtfully into the liquid.

“How’s your swim team coming?” Makoto asks instead.

Rin glares at his mug, not forgetting that it was Makoto who had called him to ask him to join the team in the first place. For as much as he cares about the other boy, sometimes Makoto’s mothering and meddling can get annoying.

He shrugs, instead. “Fine, I guess.”

Rin wants to ask how their training is going, but he already knows. It’s why he’s here, after all. But now’s not the time for that.

“Seijuro says that you guys are almost ready for the competition,” Makoto says.

This instantly catches Rin’s attention. “When’d you talk with him?”

“We ran into each other at the store the other day,” Makoto replies, smiling softly.

Rin huffs, taking a huge gulp of his cooling beverage. Makoto is watching him curiously, he notices, and his stare is getting annoying.

“What?” he snarls, sharp teeth glinting.

Makoto doesn’t jump, like Rin had expected. In fact, there’s not even a flinch or a wince. He shrugs, instead.

“No, seriously,” Rin presses, irked. He had forgotten how irritating Makoto’s silences could be. Sure, Haruka was mostly silent, but when Makoto was quiet in the same way, he was thinking over something, something that weighed heavily on his mind. It was like he knew something you didn’t, and was just waiting for you to figure it out yourself.

“Nothing,” Makoto finally answers, giving Rin another infuriating small smile. “Just trying to figure out why you’re here when Haruka’s house is up the steps.”

Makoto should know this. Rin’s not heartless, and it’s not like he only cares about Haruka. He was Makoto’s friend once too, and he still cares about him. Nagisa too. Makoto wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t slow. It was just that he often put himself behind everyone else, and so his own needs went unnoticed.

Rin wants to stand up and shake Makoto, to go over and hug him, slap him, punch him, _touch him_ , to make sure that he’s really okay. He wants to yell at him, scream at him to see what the real problem is.

“Gou told me what happened,” he blurts out instead, then internally curses himself. This was not how he wanted this conversation to go.

His statement is met with silence, and when he looks up, Makoto is staring at his lap. Rin instantly feels guilt creep up on him, and glares at his cup. Both boys are silent before Rin clicks his tongue and explodes out of his chair, pacing the kitchen. He needs to move, to work off this angry, nervous energy that seems to be eating him up all the time nowadays. He wants a pool, but his want to make sure that Makoto is okay overrides that sense.

Thus the pacing.

Makoto doesn’t do anything, doesn’t day a word. He stares at lap still.

“Makoto,” Rin snaps, and the olive-haired boy glances up sheepishly. “Why?”

“Why, what…” Makoto whispers, eyes saddened with the fear of years ago.

Rin wants to grab his friend and shake him, to slap him, punch him, scream at him, _touch him_ just to calm his own nerves. Makoto is still here, sitting in the chair, breathing.

“Why did you go into the ocean?” he asks, glaring. “You _hate_ the ocean! You’re afraid of the ocean!”

Makoto goes back to looking at his lap, hands wringing around themselves.

“You’re terrified of the ocean and yet you go there for a training camp! You rush out after someone in the middle of a storm! You could have _died_!”

Rin has to watch himself, to make sure that he’s not yelling. He reaches up and tangled his hands in his hair in frustration.

“I know…” Makoto whispers, and suddenly his huge frame seems smaller in that chair.

Rin wants to strangle the other boy.

“Seven minutes,” he snarls. “Haruka had to give you CPR for _seven minutes_! For _seven minutes_ , you weren’t breathing!”

“Do you have a point with this?” Makoto suddenly growls, and Rin catches himself. He doesn’t remember Makoto getting angry much during their youth. In fact, it’d only happened once; Makoto’s anger is not pleasant.

Rin sighs, slumping back into his seat once more. He leans forward and holds his head in his hands.

“If you’re so uncomfortable with it, why’d you agree with it?” he mutters. “Gou told me that you planned the whole trip.”

His question is met with a moment of silence before Rin hears Makoto sigh.

“Everyone was so excited about it,” he says softly. “I couldn’t tell them no just because I’m scared…”

“You have every reason to be afraid,” Rin replies, lifting his head. The other boy is sitting back in his chair, hugging himself and staring at his mug.

There is silence between them, and not the pleasant time. Rin wants to swim away this whole thing, but something else still nags at him. He’s not done here yet.

“Makoto, did you ever tell the others about what happened that day?” he asks softly.

Makoto bites his lip, then unfolds his arms and wraps his huge hands around the mug. His knuckles are white. He shakes his head.

“Haru knows, but I didn’t tell him,” he says. “I never asked him how he found out, but he knows. Nagisa has no idea.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?” Rin asks.

“Did you tell Gou?” Makoto snaps.

“It never came up!” Maybe if they knew, this entire thing could have been avoided.

“And what would you have liked me to tell them, exactly?” Makoto asks bitterly, and Rin blinks. He’s never heard that tone from the other boy before. “That the reason you moved to Australia was because I couldn’t help save your father? That I nearly let Haru drown? That I’m practically _useless_ in the water?!”

Rin feels his chest constrict as his heart breaks. Makoto is shaking slightly as he reaches up a hand to brush at his eyes.

“Makoto, none of those are true,” he says softly, gently. He shakes his head. “My father’s death… it was an accident. And we were just kids, there was nothing we could have done in either of those situations. They were _accidents_.”

Makoto is silent.

“And I didn’t move to Australia to get away from you guys,” Rin continued. “I went because maybe… if I had been there… had been fast enough to get to Haruka or my father…. Maybe that never would have happened.”

Makoto looks up, a puzzled frown on his sad face.

“That’s why I need to beat him,” Rin says, staring now at his own mug. “So that I know that I’m fast enough to save someone. So that nothing like that can ever happen again.”

“Rin…” Makoto whispers.

He hadn’t meant to say that out loud… Rin feels a lump in his throat as he croaks out the rest of it.

“And so that you, and anyone else, never has to be afraid of the ocean ever again…”

A heavy silence follows his confession. He’s afraid to look at Makoto, staring instead at his mug of cold tea. It’s only half gone, but Rin feels like if he drinks anymore right now he’ll throw up.

He nearly jumps when he hears soft laughter come from Makoto.

Taking a risk, Rin lifts his head and peeks through his hair at his old friend. The taller boy has a hand over his face as he chuckles, but Rin can also see tears leaking out the corners of his eyes. The red-head can old sit and stare, confused. Of all the reactions he had expected, this is not one of them.

Finally, Makoto composes himself, sniffling as he wipes his face and gives Rin a sad smile.

“Rin,” he says. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said something that nice to me before.”

Rin can only stare in awed silence with wide eyes. Makoto’s smile turns into fondness. That cold feeling in his chest begins to disappear and Rin feels like he breathe again for the first time since Gou told him what happened.

“Then you need better friends,” Rin replies, twisting his mug and making his tea swish in small waves.

There’s a beat before the two of them begin to laugh, a real laugh, and struggle to keep quiet as to not disturb Haruka in the other room. When they calm down, faces sore from smiling, Rin stands up.

“I should get going,” he says. “I told Gou I’d take her to the movies.”

Makoto nods and gather’s his and Rin’s mug, placing them in the sink before walking Rin to the door. As they pass the entrance to the living room, where the TV is playing softly, Rin sees Haruka watching them silently. He gives Rin a small nod of acknowledgement which he returns. If Makoto notices, he doesn’t say anything.

“We’ll see you at the races,” Makoto says as he opens the door for Rin.

“You guys had better be ready,” he replies with a smirk. “Don’t think I’m gonna go easy on ya’.”

Makoto chuckles. “Of course not.”

Rin takes a step out, but pauses in the doorway for a moment before turning back to his friend.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asks. He feels lighter, but this is Makoto…

Makoto gives him a reassuring smile and nods. “I’m fine. Really. I was shaken up a lot after it happened, but I’m okay now.”

Rin gives a nod, knowing the rest of what Makoto didn’t say. _He’s not ready to get back in the ocean yet_.

“Tell Nagisa I said hi,” he says instead as a form of goodbye. Makoto nods.

“Thanks for the chocolate.”

Rin turns to leave, raising a hand in acknowledgement and after a moment, he hears the door click shut.

As he walks back to his house to pick up his sister, he stares at the ocean, it’s calm waves gently lapping at the sand on the beach. Children run in the surf under the watchful eye of their parents, and Rin’s thoughts wander.

He remembers wide green eyes, tears spilling out of them. He remembers the still, pale chest of a child. He remembers the shock of not being able to move. He remembers anger and resentment, fear, hatred, betrayal, feeling inadequate.

And then he thinks of now. When he sees pools of sparkling blue, large, gently hands that nurture, sunny dispositions, all wrapped neatly under mutual understanding and friendly competition.

Rin feels the last of the coldness in his body leave with a shiver, and as he continues to walk home, he pushes the darker, void-filled thoughts away.

**Author's Note:**

> It sucks, don't judge me


End file.
